Crawlspace (2012 film)

Last updated

Crawlspace
Crawlspace (2012 film) Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Justin Dix
Written byJustin Dix
Eddie Baroo
Adam Patrick Foster
Produced byJustin Dix
John Finemore
Nicholas Sherry
Starring Amber Clayton
Eddie Baroo
Nicholas Bell
CinematographySimon Ozolins
Edited by Dave Redman
Music by Jamie Blanks
Production
companies
Distributed by Gryphon Entertainment (Australia)
IFC Films (North America)
Release dates
  • February 2012 (2012-02)(Cannes Film Festival)
  • 18 October 2012 (2012-10-18)(North America) [1]
Running time
83 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Crawlspace is a 2012 Australian science fiction-action-horror film directed by Justin Dix. [2] The script was co-written by Dix, co-star Eddie Baroo, and Adam Patrick Foster. A team of elite commandos are sent to a secret military base to extract a scientific team under attack by escaped prisoners. It was released on October 18, 2012 to largely negative reviews from critics.

Contents

Plot

After receiving a distress signal, a team of elite commandos are dispatched to extract a scientific team in a secret military base. The team is instructed to shoot on sight any prisoners that they see. When they arrive, the commandos split into three teams. However, team leader Romeo (Ditch Davey) disobeys orders when he recognises one of the prisoners, Eve (Amber Clayton), as his dead wife. Confused, Romeo asks how this is possible, but Eve claims to be suffering from amnesia and can only remember bits and pieces of her life. The others dispute this and want to kill her, but Romeo is adamant that she must accompany them. After an encounter with a mutant gorilla, Elvis (John Brumpton) is killed and tensions begin to rise; the team begin to wonder what kind of experiments could have been performed at the base.

When the commandos find lead scientist Caesar (Nicholas Bell), they angrily demand answers, but he tells them only that Eve is a dangerous and important weapon. Matthews (Samuel Johnson), after being threatened, reveals that the prisoners have been used in brain experiments. Eve is distressed by this, and the team remains hostile to the scientists; however, they agree to allow the scientists to accompany them. A friendly team opens fire on them, and a prisoner nearly forces Romeo to open fire on his own team. Fourpack (Eddie Baroo) saves Romeo by killing the prisoner. Caesar explains that the prisoners have psychic powers, enhanced through experimentation. Disgusted, the team abandons the scientists and decides to escort Eve to the surface. Wiki (Peta Sergeant) hallucinates a dog attack and accidentally kills herself, and the third team opens fire on the remaining soldiers. In the confusion, Eve and the soldiers split up.

Using a security console, Caesar guides Eve to Matthews and saves Romeo and Fourpack. Matthews reveals that Eve is composed of two subjects, only one of whom consented. While watching a videotape, Eve realises that Matthews is complicit in her abduction and experiment, and, using her psychic powers, forces Matthews to kill himself. Eve then rejoins Fourpack and Romeo, but she forces Fourpack to kill himself, too. Romeo, Eve, and Caesar confront each other, and Caesar reveals that Eve was never Romeo's wife; instead, Eve has insinuated herself into Romeo's memories. Eve psychically kills Caesar and expresses her envy for the love shared between Romeo and his wife. Romeo feigns an attraction to her and tries to blow them both up, but Eve escapes. Before she escapes the facility, Eve has a flashback of seeing an alien during her operation: it is implied that somehow the scientists removed the brain or the personality of the alien and transferred it into Eve. The film ends with her witnessing the destruction of the base in the distance.

Cast

Production

In an interview with Dread Central, Dix cited John Carpenter, Ridley Scott, and J. J. Abrams as inspirations. Crawlspace was written to be a contained, paranoid story that uses genre film tropes. Production took place at Docklands Studios Melbourne over twenty-three days, and post-production took six months. [3]

Release

The film was first released at the Cannes Film Festival in February 2012.

IFC Films acquired rights to distribute the film in North America. The North American premiere was at Screamfest Horror Film Festival on 18 October 2012. [1]

Reception

Crawlspace received negative reviews from film critics. Matt Donato, of We Got This Covered, rated the film 2/5 stars and called it a "sloppy mess". [4] Brad McHargue, of Dread Central, rated it 2.5/5 stars and said that Crawlspace "wears its influences on its sleeve" but is "mildly entertaining at times". [5] Scott Weinberg, of Fearnet, complimented the filmmakers for trying to make a cerebral film, but dismissed it as "a pretty forgettable affair". [6] Chris Holt, of Starburst, rated it 5/10 and criticized the film's lack of coherence and character development. [7] However, in a positive review, Mark Adams, of Screen Daily called it "so very familiar" but solid and exciting. [8] Brian Clark, of Twitch Film, agreed and said that it "crosses the line between homage and rip-off several times" but is diverting and well-directed. [9]

Related Research Articles

Greg McLean (film director) Australian film director

Greg McLean is an Australian film director, producer and writer, best known for his work in horror films. He rose to fame in 2005 with his debut feature film, Wolf Creek, creating one of Australia's most memorable and horrific characters, Mick Taylor. The long-awaited sequel to his first feature, Wolf Creek 2 was released February 2013. Mclean also wrote, directed and produced Rogue (2007) and was executive producer of Red Hill (2010) and Crawlspace (2012). He is also the co-author of two novels about the fictional character Mick Taylor; Wolf Creek: Origin and Wolf Creek: Desolation Game and the four-part comic book series Dark Axis: Secret Battles of WW2 and the graphic novel Sebastian Hawks – Creature Hunter. In 2016, his film, The Darkness, was released to theaters, and a Wolf Creek TV series was released on Australian streaming service Stan.

<i>Storm Warning</i> (2007 film) 2007 Australian film

Storm Warning is a 2007 Australian horror film directed by Jamie Blanks and starring Nadia Farès and Robert Taylor.

Ashley C. Williams American actress (born 1984)

Ashley Christina Williams is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the horror films The Human Centipede (2010) and Julia (2014).

Madison County is a 2011 horror film directed and written by Eric England. The film was first released on October 17, 2011. It stars Colley Bailey, Matt Mercer, and Ace Marrero as a group of college kids out to interview an author of a true crime book, only to end up targeted by a killer.

<i>Saturday Morning Mystery</i> 2012 American film

Saturday Morning Mystery is a 2012 independent horror film by Spencer Parsons that premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. The movie is a dark parody/spoof of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series. Parsons cited Re-Animator and Basket Case as inspirations for the film.

Sean MacKenzie Bridgers is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his role as Johnny Burns on the HBO series Deadwood and on the SundanceTV original series Rectify as Trey Willis. Additional to many roles in television and film since 1991, Bridgers received acclaim and awards for the independent film Paradise Falls, which he wrote and produced.

<i>Jug Face</i> 2013 American film

Jug Face is a 2013 American horror film written and directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle and starring Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter, Larry Fessenden, Sean Young and Daniel Manche. The story follows a teen (Carter), who is pregnant with her brother's child and tries to escape from a backwoods community, only to discover that she must sacrifice herself to a creature in a pit.

The Battery is a 2012 American drama horror film and the directorial debut of Jeremy Gardner. The film stars Gardner and co-producer Adam Cronheim as two former baseball players trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. The film premiered at the Telluride Horror Show in October 2012 and received a video-on-demand release June 4, 2013. It has won audience awards at several international film festivals.

<i>The Conspiracy</i> (2012 film) 2012 Canadian film

The Conspiracy is a 2012 Canadian found footage conspiracy thriller horror film written and directed by Christopher MacBride. It features actors Aaron Poole, James Gilbert, Alan C. Peterson, and Julian Richings. It tells the story of two documentary filmmakers who set out to create a film about a conspiracy theorist named "Terrance G" who disappears during the making of the film. The two filmmakers are subsequently drawn into the world of a global syndicate whose aims and machinations are clouded in secrecy.

Entrance is a 2011 American independent film that mixes elements of mumblecore, psychological thrillers, and horror films. It was directed by Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath and was written by Hallam, Horvath, Karen Gorham, and Michelle Margolis. Suziey Block stars as a barista who lives a repetitive and anxious life in Los Angeles. When her beloved dog disappears, she decides to give up and move back home, but first she invites all her friends to a going-away party.

<i>Entity</i> (2012 film) 2012 British film

Entity is a 2012 British supernatural thriller film written and directed by Steve Stone. The film had its world premiere on 25 October 2012, at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival. It stars Dervla Kirwan, Charlotte Riley, and Branko Tomovic and centers upon a British reality show film crew that encounters a dark entity.

<i>Rites of Spring</i> (film) 2011 horror film

Rites of Spring is a 2011 American horror film written and directed by Padraig Reynolds. It stars A. J. Bowen, Sonny Marinelli, and Katherine Randolph as kidnappers who encounter an unrelated kidnapping victim who is fleeing a monster.

<i>Devils Pass</i> 2013 film

Devil's Pass is a 2013 horror film directed by Renny Harlin, written by Vikram Weet, and starring Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright, Ryan Hawley, and Gemma Atkinson as Americans who investigate the Dyatlov Pass incident. It is shot in the style of found footage.

<i>Torment</i> (2013 film) 2013 Canadian film

Torment is a 2013 Canadian horror film directed by Jordan Barker. The film had its world premiere on October 11, 2013, at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. It stars Katharine Isabelle as a woman who must try to save her step-son from an insane family.

<i>Lord of Tears</i> 2013 British film

Lord of Tears, also known as The Owlman, is a 2013 Scottish low-budget horror film directed by Lawrie Brewster and was his horror film directorial debut. The film first released on 25 October 2013 in Whitby at the Bram Stoker International Film Festival, where it won two awards. The film follows a Scottish schoolteacher that begins to see visions of the Owl Man, a strange figure that he was obsessed with as a child. The film was followed by The Unkindness of Ravens and The Black Gloves, both directed by Lawrie Brewster.

<i>Haunt</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

Haunt is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by Mac Carter in his feature film directorial debut. The film premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center on November 6, 2013, and was later released on video on demand on February 7, 2014. Haunt stars Harrison Gilbertson as a teenager who moves into a new house and goes through not only a sexual awakening but also a terrifying haunting.

<i>Fractured</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

Fractured is a 2013 psychological horror film that was directed by Adam Gierasch, based on a script by Gierasch and his writing partner Jace Anderson. The film had its world premiere on October 12, 2013 at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. It stars Callum Blue as an amnesiac trying to discover what exactly happened to him.

<i>The Returned</i> (2013 film) 2013 Spanish-Canadian thriller film by Manuel Carballo

The Returned is a 2013 Spanish-Canadian thriller film directed by Manuel Carballo, written by Hatem Khraiche, and starring Emily Hampshire, Kris Holden-Ried, Shawn Doyle, and Claudia Bassols. When a rare and difficult to obtain medicine that requires daily doses to stave off the effects of a zombie infection runs low, a physician (Hampshire) and her infected husband (Holden-Ried) go on the run to avoid angry demonstrators.

<i>The Hunted</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

The Hunted is a 2013 found footage thriller film and the directorial debut of American actor Josh Stewart. Stewart stars in the film and also penned its script. The Hunted had its world premiere on October 10, 2013 at Screamfest and was planned for release on home video on September 9, 2014. The movie casts Stewart along with Ronnie Gene Blevins as two hunters that find themselves becoming quarry for an unknown enemy.

<i>Terrifier</i> 2016 US slasher film by Damien Leon

Terrifier is a 2016 American slasher film written, co-produced, and directed by Damien Leone. The film stars Jenna Kanell, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton, and Catherine Corcoran. Thornton portrays the murderous Art the Clown, who hunts three young women played by Kannell, Scaffidi, and Corcoran on Halloween. It marks the second feature film appearance of the Art the Clown character, after Leone's 2013 anthology film All Hallows' Eve, which incorporated footage from previous short films that were also directed by Leone and featured the character.

References

  1. 1 2 Fernandez, Jay A. (9 October 2012). "IFC Midnight Acquires Sci-Fi Thriller 'Crawlspace'". Indie Wire. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Crawlspace | Justin Dix | Video Interview". The Age . 7 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Decker, Sean (9 October 2012). "Screamfest L.A. 2012: Exclusive – Director Justin Dix Talks Crawlspace; New Photos". Dread Central . Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Donato, Matt. "Crawlspace Review". We Got This Covered. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  5. ↑ McHargue, Brad (4 January 2013). "Crawlspace (2012)". Dread Central . Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Weinberg, Scott (31 October 2012). "FEARnet Movie Review: 'Crawlspace' (2012)". FEARnet. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  7. ↑ Holt, Chris (2 February 2013). "DVD Review: CRAWLSPACE". Starburst . Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Adams, Mark (1 November 2012). "Crawlspace". Screen Daily . Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Clark, Brian (5 April 2013). "Brussels 2013 Review: CRAWLSPACE Is Claustrophobic, Derivative Fun". Twitch Film . Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.